Paris for Dieselpunks

If there is a place in Paris anyone who calls himself a Dieselpunk can't ignore while visiting La Ville Lumière - sorry Tome, you've missed it the last time you saw Paris, to quote Mister Hammerstein! - it's the Musée des Années 30 (Museum of the Thirties). The Museum isn't actually located in Paris, but in Boulogne-Billancourt which is, however, immediatly next to Paris and very easy to reach by metro. Boulogne-Billancourt, it must be said, is very much a city from the 30's itself: this once was the location of the huge Louis Renault car factories, as well as those of some pioneers of both zeppelins and planes building from the Golden Age of aeronautic, such as Farman and the Voisin Brothers.

The Museum is specialized in the fine arts, decorative and industrial arts from the Interbellum era. It offers an amazing collection of paintings, objects, furniture and much more, in such a variety of genres anyone into these decades can find something of interest to him, whatever his tastes are. The extensive collections offer items ranging from the finest pieces of furniture by Ruhlman or Leleu

... or paintings by Tamara de Lempicka among many others artists for the Art Deco specialized aesthetes

... to wonderful appliances from the era

... and lots of somehow intriguing objects, machines and even vehicles to inspire the Dieselpunks jack of all trades

... to the most futurist, avant-garde pieces of art for the connoisseurs

... not to mention the unique collection of colonial art from the former French Colonial Empire of the time, featured there both through original artworks and the memorabilia from the major Thirties Fairs.

A HD tour video, far from doing justice to all the wonders available in the Museum though, is available, which is certainly worth while a look:

... and the most discerning, comprehensive experts will definitely enjoy browsing throughout the ten original sketch books of cartons (drawings) by Jacques- Emile Ruhlman for furniture, light fixtures and complete interior designs through these clever online animations:

The Musée des Années 30 is certainly worth while leaving the clichés and common places of touristic Paris for a few hours. It truly is a time capsule, a dive into a bygone era of refinement, elegance and French savoir-faire at its best and stepping back into our somehow dull world of today, you'll both regret you weren't born in those days and find yourself desperately hoping today architects, sculptors and designers of all kinds will continue to keep the spirit of the time alive through their work.

Along with the Musée d'Orsay, technically specialized in the XIXth century art but covering as well the first half of the XXth century, the Musée des Années 30 is definitely one of my favorite museums in Paris and I highly recommand a visit, if the occasion calls.